


You Protect Them, I Protect You

by wildekinder



Category: Atypical (TV 2017)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff, I love Casey protecting Izzie, ITS VERY IMPORTANT, Trigger Warning inside, read the opening note
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-02-01 03:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21354334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildekinder/pseuds/wildekinder
Summary: Casey wasn’t budging. It was just her constantly repeating “nothing,” and shaking her head.“Newton, pull over.”Casey didn’t even flinch, determined to get home and lay in her bed.“Hey, Case, pull over please.”“No! I’m going home and we’re going to lay in my bed and watch a movie and not talk about what happened. Got it?”
Relationships: Casey Gardner/Izzie
Comments: 13
Kudos: 240





	1. “He’s Dangerous.”

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning:
> 
> This work will contain mentions of sexual abuse from a male (sort of) authority figure (the boyfriend of Izzie’s mother).
> 
> If this is something that will trigger emotions or feelings within yourself, please refrain from reading.
> 
> Though the sexual abuse does not go far, it will be referred to often as it is the driving plot point of this story.
> 
> Also, there is use of the term “faggot” in this work. If that makes you uncomfortable, please click away.

“I shouldn’t have said yes, I should’ve known he’d be a dick. This is why I didn’t want you coming over, Newton.”

Casey placed her hands on Izzie’s cheeks, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears streaming down her face.

“Hey, it’s okay. Just breathe and get the kids in my car. I’ll make sure he doesn’t get to them, I promise.”

Izzie shook her head. “I can’t do that to you, Case, he’s dangerous.”

Casey nodded, kissing Izzie’s forehead gently. “Izzie, get the kids to my car, please. You keep them safe right now, and I’ll keep you safe.”

Izzie slowly pulled away, wiping furiously at her face to get rid of the tears before going to get her siblings, there was no way she would let them see her cry.

As Izzie got the kids out through the back door and went through the yard, Casey walked to the front door, saying nothing to the man who had Izzie so terrified she was shaking.

“Hey, you some sort of faggot?”

Casey turned around and raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“You’re bringing your disgusting lifestyle around those kids and ruining their lives. They don’t need to see that shit. You’re disgusting.”

“They only disgusting person ruining those kids’ lives is you.”

Before Casey could even comprehend, the man was standing in front of her, leaving no room between them. He forced his hand between her legs, using the other to hold her neck back against the wall.

“I’ll show you what shit should feel like, faggot.”

Struggling to breathe, Casey wasn’t in her correct mindset. Under any other circumstances, she would’ve just punched him as hard as possible. But it didn’t  seem possible. Gathering all the strength she had, she firmly kneed him, directly in the crotch.

As he fell back in pain, she took the opportunity to escape out the front door, going to her car.

She was visibly shaken, Izzie had never seen her like this before. Casey had always seemed to take things as they came with grace and elegance, never letting it break her badass exterior.

“Case, what happened.”

She shook her head for what felt like forever before finally breathing out, “Nothing.”

When she saw the man open the front door, she put her car in drive and immediately began driving, hands clenching the wheel the entire time.

After dropping the kids off at her grandmother’s house, Izzie figured she could get more out of Casey about why exactly had happened. But Casey wasn’t budging. It was just her constantly repeating “nothing,” and shaking her head.

“Newton, pull over.”

Casey didn’t even flinch, determined to get home and lay in her bed.

“Hey, Case, pull over please.”

“No! I’m going home and we’re going to lay in my bed and watch a movie and not talk about what happened. Got it?”

Izzie felt small. Smaller than she felt when he was yelling at her. Smaller than she felt when she was a dick to Casey. She felt useless. She felt as if she couldn’t help her girlfriend, not even a little.

“Okay.”

The ride was silent the rest of the way. Though, Casey did take Izzie’s hand about half way through and held it as if it was the only thing grounding her. If she had held it just a bit tighter, Izzie would’ve been in pain.

Luckily, her parents weren’t home when they arrived. Izzie had remembered Elsa saying something about “date night” and now that Sam had moved in with Zahid, they often had the place to themselves.

They say in silence as they watched their movie, Izzie’s head on Casey’s shoulder. She couldn’t help but notice the red marks on her neck, unmistakably left by her mother’s boyfriend. And before she realized, she was crying.

Crying because Casey got hurt. Crying because it was hurt fault. Crying because she didn’t even know what happened but it had so clearly messed with her girlfriend severely.

It didn’t take long for Casey to notice and snap almost completely out of her state. It never did. Casey cared more about Izzie than she did about most things, and if she was crying, she was going to fix it.

“Hey, Iz, what’s wrong?”

She placed her laptop on her nightstand and sat up, turning to look at Izzie.

“He hurt you. I can see the marks. It’s my fault.”

“No, no, no, this isn’t your fault.”

Casey leaned down and pressed her lips to Izzie’s in a gentle kiss.

“None of it is your fault.” She breathed against Izzie’s lips before connecting them with her own again.

Izzie’s tears had slowed down, but she still felt responsible for this situation. “I’ve never seen you so empty Newton, it’s scary.”

“It isn’t because of you, Izzie, I promise. I just need to figure this out right now in myself. And-and maybe I’ll be ready to talk about it soon. But really, I don’t think you should even be sleeping at home for a while.”

“Case, I have to face reality at some point.”

Casey shook her head, holding Izzie’s face in her hands. “Stay here with me.”

“I-“

“Please. I would feel so much better if you were here with me.”

Izzie couldn’t do anything but nod and push Casey’s chest down so she could curl into her side and close her eyes.

“Goodnight, Newton.”

“Goodnight, Izzie.”

As they fell asleep, limbs tangled together, Izzie couldn’t help but wonder what her mom’s boyfriend had done to turn Casey into this scared shell of herself. And Casey, she couldn’t help but wonder if that man had ever laid his hands on Izzie the way he did to herself. And if he did: so help him God, Casey will show him no mercy.


	2. “I Asked Elsa to Get Me a Therapist.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa sat down at the table and looked at Casey, worry in her eyes.
> 
> “Well, something happened last night.”
> 
> She looked up at her mother, who had an eyebrow raised, but still didn’t say a word. Weird.
> 
> “And I don’t want to talk to you about it because you’ll go all crazy but it scared me and I need somebody to talk to about it. Could... could you find me a therapist?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, kiddos.
> 
> Trigger warning: This chapter has mentions of past sexual abuse. Viewer discretion is advised.

If she moved, Izzie would for sure wake up. And she _had _to train. But Izzie looked so beautiful, and peaceful, and comfortable.

She checked the time and sighed, “Izzie, it’s almost four thirty, I’ve gotta get up and run.”

Izzie didn’t even stir.

“Iz, c’mon, I have to train.”

When Izzie still didn’t move, Casey had to just slowly untangle herself from the other’s body, earning a whimper when she was finally freed.

“So _that_ makes you wake up?”

Izzie opened one eye halfway, looking at Casey, “Lay down, I was comfy.”

“I have to go on my morning run.”

The girl groaned. “Fine, go ahead. I’m sleeping in.”

Casey rolled her eyes and leaned down, giving Izzie a quick kiss before grabbing her workout clothes and going to change in the bathroom. It wasn’t until she took her shirt off that she finally noticed the red marks on her neck and the events from the previous night flooded her brain.

And she broke down. Quietly, though. She didn’t want to wake Izzie up. She didn’t want Izzie to wake up again.

She didn’t understand why things had to happen the way they did. She felt so defenseless in that moment. So incredibly shocked that she didn’t even remember how to move her body. All she knew was she couldn’t go back to Izzie’s house. And she didn’t want Izzie going back either.

After crying for a what felt like forever, she was able to pull herself together and get dressed, covering up what she could of her neck with makeup in a bad attempt at hiding it from Elsa. She would figure it out, she always figured it out.

She exited the bathroom to her room and sat at the edge of the bed, pulling her sneakers on sloppily.

“What took so long?”

She snapped her head to look at Izzie. “I thought you’d be sleeping by now.”

Izzie sat up, a look of concern on her face. “You were in there for fifteen minutes.”

“Yeah, uh, I was just psyching myself up for my run.”

Izzie didn’t believe it. “I heard crying.”

“Not crying, heavy breathing. To... to get my lungs ready for the run.”

She placed a hand on Casey’s arm, rubbing it gently. “Case, talk to me.”

Casey jerked away, jumping to her feet. “I told you, I’m not ready to talk about it. Just leave it alone, alright!”

“Okay, sorry. I’m just worried.”

Casey nodded and looked down. “I know, and I appreciate it. But right now I just need you to be my girlfriend and built forts and go out to eat with me. Okay?”

Izzie nodded. “Yeah.”

She sat up on her knees, leaning forward to kiss Casey gently, pulling away after a few moments. “Don’t let it mess with your head, you’re so fast. Use it to make you faster.”

And that was exactly what Casey did. She ran as fast and as hard as she could and even shaved her time down by a few seconds. It was amazing what a mixture of fear and anger could do for her.

When she arrived back home, Izzie was already gone, but had left her a plate of breakfast on the table.

_ It’s no Elsa Gardner breakfast, but I hope you had a good run. See you at school, Newton. _

_ \- Izzie _

Casey smiled as she read the note, sitting down and eating the pancakes Izzie had left for her. Elsa finally came down a few minutes later and Casey didn’t expect herself to  want to ask for help.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, sweetie, what do you need?”

Elsa sat down at the table and looked at Casey, worry in her eyes.

“Well, something happened last night.”

She looked up at her mother, who had an eyebrow raised, but still didn’t say a word. Weird.

“And I don’t want to talk to you about it because you’ll go all crazy but it scared me and I need somebody to talk to about it. Could... could you find me a therapist?”

The woman was taken aback. Ever since Casey was a little girl, she never asked for help. When she did, it was a serious issue.

“Case, what happened?”

Casey stood up, shaking her head. “Never mind. You clearly don’t care that I said I didn’t want to talk to you about it. Forget I said anything.”

“No, no, wait. I’ll get you someone.”

The girl took a deep breath, calming herself down. “Thank you.”

Elsa looked up at Casey from the table, that same look of concern in her eyes. “Did you talk to your dad or Sam or Izzie about it?”

Casey shook her head. “Please don’t tell dad or Sam. Izzie knows something happened. She doesn’t know what.”

Her mother nodded, getting her phone out. “I’ll figure it out. Go get ready for school.”

School was hell. She felt like every single eyes was on her all day.

_ They know, they have to know. They see the marks. _

She couldn’t pay attention in any classes, it was hell. Thankfully, Izzie wasn’t prying and was gentle and wonderful the entire day, giving her slow kisses and making two copies of her notes for all her classes.

She got to the locker room early, sprinting from her last class to change before anyone else had gotten in there. She threw a hoodie on over her clothes just as the rest of the team started walking in.

“Weird way to practice, Newton.”

Casey looked down. “I’m cold.”

Izzie shrugged, starting to change into her workout clothes.

“I asked Elsa to get me a therapist.”

The shorter girl looked up at her girlfriend, pulling her sneakers on. “Oh?”

Casey nodded, leaning on one of the lockers. “Maybe after I talk to someone, I can tell you what happened.”

Izzie bit her lip, nodding again. She didn’t want to pry and make Casey pull away from her. And as much as it hurt to watch Casey hurting and so -  _ not herself  _ \- it would hurt more to lose her all together. Especially considering this was ultimately  her mother’s fault.

“Okay, Newton.”

She stood up, leaning up to kiss Casey. “Can I stay over tonight?”

“Only if you’re okay with Elsa’s ridiculous door open policy.”

“It’s not ridiculous, she just wants to make sure we aren’t getting too carried away.”

Izzie was right, but Elsa was still annoying. And helpful. More annoying than helpful, though, Casey had convinced herself.

“C’mon, lets go practice.”

Casey grabbed Izzie’s hand and began walking with her, smirking when they reached the doors to the outside.

She leaned over to Izzie, whispering in her ear, “Race you.”

Then she took off, Izzie trailing right behind.

Casey won that race.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m thinking Casey’s going to go see a therapist in the next chapter because the devil works fast, but Elsa Gardner works faster.
> 
> Also there’ll be more soft Cazzie moments just be patient and soon the way will be clear.
> 
> Until next time.


	3. "He Touched Me."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Mom, no. Don’t make a big deal out of this, okay?”
> 
> “Casey, I know you and I have our differences but you’re always going to be my little girl and I will hurt anyone who lays a single finger on you when you don’t want it. I’m going to hurt him.”
> 
> Casey widened her eyes. “Elsa, no, butt out!”
> 
> Elsa shook her head quickly and seemed to snap out of it. “I’m sorry, Case.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: There are mentions of sexual abuse in this chapter as well as my others. Please do not read if that is something that makes you uncomfortable.

“How did it go, sweetie?”

Casey shrugged, buckling her seat belt. “Good, I guess. It was nice to talk about it with someone who doesn’t know me.”

“I’m sorry I pry into your life sometimes, Case. I just love you and you know I’d do anything for-”

“He touched me.”

Elsa’s eyes widened at the sentence her daughter had suddenly blurted out.

“Who?”

“Her mom’s boyfriend. He called me a faggot and told me he’d show me what things are supposed to feel like.”

The woman turned to Casey and gave her the most serious expression her daughter had ever seen her make. “I’ll hurt him.”

“Mom, no. Don’t make a big deal out of this, okay?”

“Casey, I know you and I have our differences but you’re always going to be my little girl and I will hurt anyone who lays a single finger on you when you don’t want it. I’m going to hurt him.”

Casey widened her eyes. “Elsa, no, butt out!”

Elsa shook her head quickly and seemed to snap out of it. “I’m sorry, Case.”

“It’s not that. I appreciate you wanting to help me, but nobody can know. You can’t call the police, you can’t tell your friends, you can’t tell dad. _No one_, mom.”

Her mother grabbed her hands. “Casey, I have to. It’s illegal. He has to go to jail.”

“Mom, you can’t. If he gets the authorities called in him then they’ll check out Izzie’s home and see that her mom’s a piece of shit and they’ll put her and the kids in foster care. She’ll be separated from them, mom, they’ll all be separated. They need each other.”

“But, Case-”

Casey let a few tears roll down her cheeks trying to blink them away. They’ll take them away. And _I need her_. I need Izzie, mom. I need her.”

The girl full on broke down, it was impossible for her to control the stream of tears flowing down her cheeks.

All Elsa could do was reassure her that it would be okay and hug her awkwardly across the center console, but it somehow made Casey feel better.

“Mom? Can we stop at Izzie’s house on the way home?”

Elsa gave her an apologetic look. “Case, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“But, mom, the kids are still at her grandma’s house. I can’t help but keep thinking he’s probably done the same to her… or worse. And if he hasn’t, he will, mom. I need to get her out of there.”

“Casey, you’ve got such a big heart,” Elsa sighed, “I can’t let you go back there, as your mother.”

She shook her head and turned to face the window, crossing her arms. “So you’re just going to let Izzie stay there where he could be hurting her? Glad to know you care about her, mom.”

Elsa just started the car and began driving. When she pulled into Izzie’s driveway, she turned to face Casey.

“You have five minutes to get her out of there, if you’re not out by then, I’m calling the police.”

Casey gave her mom a thankful look, unbuckling and going up to the front door, debating on whether or not she should knock. After a few seconds of thinking, she brought her hand up to the door and knocked once, twice, three times.

She sucked her breath in when the man opened the door. He seemingly looked over her shoulder, seeing her mother staring daggers into his soul, apparently.

“What do you want, faggot?”

Casey took a deep breath, looking behind him to try and find Izzie. “Where is she?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.”

All she could do was push past him and go up to Izzie’s room, the one she shared with her three siblings, and find the girl crying in her bed.

“Hey.”

Izzie looked up and sniffled, immediately wiping her eyes to try to get rid of the tears. “Hey.”

Before Casey could say anything else, Izzie had swiftly walked over to her and had her arms wrapped around her girlfriend’s torso.

“It sucks here. It sucks so bad.”

“I know,” Casey kissed the top of her head gently, “Let’s go, you’re coming home with me.”

“I can’t get past him; I’ve been trying to all day.”

Casey took a deep breath, pulling away from Izzie and placing her hands on the other’s cheeks. “You get out, let me worry about him.”

The shorter girl shook her head, sniffling a bit. “I can’t let you do that. Last time you did, God knows what happened.”

After a couple minutes of convincing, Izzie finally packed a bag and got herself out, Casey even managing to slip out without being noticed by the man passed out on the couch, a beer still in his hand. The ride back home was almost silent, just an occasional question from Elsa, and answer from Izzie.

They almost immediately locked themselves up in Casey’s room when they got home, Izzie sprawled out across Casey’s bed and Casey in the bathroom checking out the marks that were now just barely visible.

“Did he ever hurt you, Izzie?”

Izzie but her lip as she looked at Casey, shrugging. “Not really, he’d grab my wrist every once in a while, and it would bruise but he never really talks to me or the kids if we’re in our room. It’s kind of like it’s off limits to him, I guess. The other boyfriends would, though. Before you even came to Clayton.”

The taller girl nodded, going over to her bed and laying down beside Izzie, turning her head to look at the other girl.

“Good, I think I’d kill him if he ever touched you.”

They laid beside each other in silence, Casey placing her hand on Izzie’s hip and rubbing her side gently.

“How was therapy?”

“It was good. Yeah, good. She, uh, she put things into perspective. And she totally understood that I can’t really report what happened.”

Izzie furrowed her brows in confusion. “Why can’t you?”

Casey bit her lip, looking away. “They’ll look into your living situation. And they’ll separate you guys. Take you away. I can’t let them do that to you.”

Izzie needed to know what happened. She needed to know what that man did to Casey, why she wasn’t acting like herself. And she _really _needed to know why it was something Casey would need to report. But she knew she had to leave it alone and let Casey come to her on her own. But, damn, it was killing her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's chapter three. I feel like you see a lot more of Casey being selfless when it comes to Izzie in this chapter. In the next couple of chapters I'll explore Casey and Izzie's relationships with their siblings. Sam's been absent in this and I'm definitely not gonna have Casey tell him what happened but, y'know.
> 
> Also, Izzie's siblings will be formally introduced soon. I've been hesitant on this because I don't want to make their ages or personalities different then they will canonically, but I've decided fuck it.
> 
> So for future reference, Izzie's siblings are as follows:  
\- Isaac, 10  
\- Allison "Allie," 5  
\- Noelle, 5mo.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Leave any ideas you have for this story below, I'm writing the chapters as I go, so ideas are always welcome. 
> 
> Also I know this chapter isn't the best, but it's setting things up.

**Author's Note:**

> If you feel as though I’m not writing this as well as I can, please let me know. I’ve never written a story with a trigger warning (and definitely none like this one), I would like to show the actual emotions and reactions of someone who was sexually abused, even if it doesn’t seem as bad as it could be to that particular person. This is in no way to make this situation seem any lighter than it is or to make it seem unimportant.


End file.
